Riddick's debt
by skabs
Summary: Set after Pitch Black. How Riddick and Jack resolve their relationship. Cut in half, mostly because i didn't like where the story was going. COMPLETE.
1. Default Chapter

Insert standard disclaimer here

* * *

They said he moved like a cat, deadly graces and lithe muscles. But cats don't walk with the caution of man, of one hunted and looking over his shoulder. Cats arrogance ensures an untroubled life, the kind of life that the man has never been privileged enough to bear.

More like a lizard than a man, or a cat. Slow when no great importance is shown, with a snap of deadly force when necessary. Yes, the man named Riddick was more like a snake than a cat, in more ways than one.

_You make it so easy when you're making it rough_

He moved through the crowd gently parting those in front with a hand to the shoulder. In the dim club lights and the damaging beat of the bass, which was all that was needed, concert etiquette demanded that one step aside for so polite a request. It was an old _Doro_ song, covered by a new age heavy metal, the wale of the lead guitar distracted him for a moment, it sounded like a woman's shriek of pleasure, and Riddick had cause to know that sound well.

_You won't make no promises but you can't get enough_

His muscles bunched tight under his long sleeved black shirt, a girl behind tilted her head slightly to admire his butt and how well he wore army fatigues, before returning to her fantasies about the lead singer and her in a hot tub on Matura IV.

His baldhead reflected the stage lights and seemed very out of place amongst the metal heads attending. Most had hair longer than their shoulder blades; very few had hair as short as their ears. Riddick stopped as a young man was pushed violently from the crowd in the center. He was falling, but the crowd surrounding reached out hands, grabbing any piece of clothing they could, before pushing him mercilessly back into the fray. He jumped once, and then joyfully plowed his fist into a fellow concertgoers stomach. Riddick smirked, pushed a few people from the sidelines into the mosh pit, and lifted his head to watch the bass player as he shook his heavy brown hair back and proceeded to caress the stings lovingly.

_I feel like I'm standing in the headlights beam_

"Time to die." He muttered as he made his way towards the sidelines, it would be unfortunate to be trampled by the metal heads when one of their idols met his maker.

A hand to his shoulder made him shift slightly, giving the person room to get through. But the hand stayed in place, so his eyes rolled to his left slowly. It was a small hand, deceptively delicate with large silver rings in the shapes of skulls and Celtic knots adorning.

_You're comin' on like thunder _

_I know what this means_

The index finger tapped lightly as his gaze ran from the top of her spiky black hair, past the slanted black eyes, the full pouting lips, and the silver key that hung around her neck. It twinkled as the strobe light began to flash, his mouth went dry and her fingers tightened on his shoulder as she spun him around to face her fully.  
She wore ripped jeans and a black shirt similar to his own, but hers was sizes too large, and hung loosely on a torso that almost none knew housed pure muscle and tough skin. Riddick knew, and desperately wanted to leave before she could remind him. A faked kick and short jab were both avoided and blocked skillfully before her hand released his shoulder and grabbed onto his wrist. She spun under his arm and twisted his hand to his back, shoving him against the wall. He sighed as she leaned in, her lips brushed his ear,

"Tag." She chuckled as she bit him.

_It's unholy love_

_Oh can't you see_

_This unholy love_

_You know it's killing me_

He shoved his foot against the wall, pushing back and breaking her hold, but not before grabbing her neck and spinning her back to the wall. He pressed his thumb against her pulse point and was not shocked to feel it beat steadily. This chick had no fear, but her hatred for him shone out of eyes that glared into his own. He could see her perfectly in the almost smothering darkness, she licked her lips and clenched her teeth as he increased the pressure.

_The sting of confusion Then a kiss from your lips_

Her arms hung limply at her sides as he moved in closer. His mouth brushed her ear, sending a shiver of loathing down her spine before she heard him chuckle deeply.

_You don't make it painless_

_And you don't make it quick_

"I've got a job to do sweetheart, I'll play with you later." And with that her arms came up, a shiv clenched in both. He dodged the swipes, and jumped back into the crowd. She wouldn't bring knives into a situation like that, she was too nice, but Riddick bent to adjust his boots, and brought up a shiv of his own. She was following him, pushing between the audience, keeping him in sight. He paused right before the mosh pit, stepped aside, shot out his hand, and grabbed her arm.

_I hold on forever_

_Til I feel the sweet rush start..._

"Have fun!" he shouted as she lost her balance. Hands reached down to help her up, others pushed her deeper into the chaos. "Now, back to work." He once again made his way to the sidelines, a loud bang, out of sinc with the drums, and a pained moan not a part of the vocals, distracted the lead. He trailed off and looked around, but there was nothing unusual in the audience. The speakers must have malfunctioned, he shrugged as the bass line went dead.

"Mickey!" he growled as he spun around to check on his guitarist. But the young man, his skin already pale, had become sheet white, his fingers fumbled as he struggled to lift the bass off his shoulders, and his head shook in disbelief. A girl in the audience screamed, and the blood dripping from Mickey's side pooled steadily on the wood finished stage.

The rest of the musicians fumbled as fans raced forward to watch or try to help. Dozens of people shouted at their cells, demanding ambulances, more started crying or moaning in disbelief. One girl stood still and glared at the stage. He was gone, he'd killed and left, and now she would have to start all over again.

* * *

"So?" the question came from a kid lounging on the couch. Reading a magazine that had more to do with motor oil and grease than what Richard thought a normal teenage girl would read.

"So what?" he growled as he unhooked his boots and walked into the room in his socks.

"Sew buttons, what d'you mean so what?" Jack looked at him and glared. Her hair had grown some since she'd shaved it off, imitating him, but she still kept it short so no one could grab it. She'd had enough of long hair in her short life, and learned that the best defense, when you had the choice, was running away.

"I did a job, you don't need to know about it kid." He grumbled as he pulled his shirt over his head. Jack glared at his spine, noted the slight discoloration at his shoulder before getting to her feet.

"I need to know what you do Riddick. I might not be there when you work, but I need to know if I'm ever going to contribute." She started the argument Riddick always cut off.

"You're never going to, so you don't need to know." He flung the shirt across the room and glared at her with eyes reflecting silver in the dim light coming from the reading lamp.

"Riddick." Jack picked up the shirt and placed it in the hamper calmly. "I'm not naïve. I want to help."

"We'll see." He rubbed his hand over his head, annoyed at the stubble that had seemingly popped up from nowhere. "Jack..." he sighed.

"I'll get the razor." She went into the bathroom the studio boasted, and rummaged in his bag. She pushed aside what seemed like a million shivs, all sheathed in crude leather, black shirts, and dozens of packets of eye drops, grabbed his shave kit and some eye drops just in case.

"Thanks." Riddick sat on the coffee table and had his elbows resting on his knees as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Head back." Jack stood behind him and tapped his bare shoulder, "Open eyes." Riddick stared at the ceiling as Jack administered the numbing drops. "They itching again?"

"Just need some sleep." Riddick grumbled as Jack tossed the empty packet in the trash.

"Yeah, maybe you should take something. I know you don't like it," she said before he could object, "but I've heard you tossing after I turn out the light, you're not sleeping at all are you?"

Riddick was silent as she lathered his head and began to scrape the growth off.

_Somebody please say a prayer for me_

_Tonight_

_I'm feeling lost and there's no hope_

_In sight_

_Tryin to hold on to the vision _

_So hard when you're down_

_I'd trade an ounce of hard earned_

_Wisdom just to get out_

Riddick let his breath even out as Jack sang to herself. The kid was a whiz at electronic gizmos and engineering shit, though she couldn't aim worth shit, could never seem to keep a job and enjoyed mouthing off to anyone who would take offense. But she could sing.

_You'll never know til you've been broken_

_With the weight of the world in your _

_Hands_

_Don't want to know_

_Heart full of sorrow_

_Nobody loves you when you're broken_

_Broken down_

"That's sad." Riddick said before thinking. Jack paused shaving right behind his ear.

"You get bit by a bug or something?" The tiny scrape was a little puffy, but the scab over it looked a bit big to be natural. "Hold on." Jack took a finger nail and scraped it gently over the scab. It came away easily and perched on her finger innocently. "Um... Riddick?" she leaned forward, resting on his back as she brought it into his line of sight.

"Fuck!" Riddick studied the scrap and pulled it off Jacks finger. "She's coming." He flung the tiny transmitter out the window and detored to the bathroom to wipe the soap from his head.

"Who's coming?" Jack asked as he began to fling things into his pack.

"Pack up!" Riddick growled.

"Is this another thing I don't need to know?" Jack jumped over to the chest of drawers to grab her clothes as Riddick glared at her.

"A bounty hunter, I thought I evaded earlier."

"She?"

"Yes, she." Riddick growled, "Damn bitch never lost my scent."

The woman paused outside the door, drew her stun gun and set it on full. It would probably kill him, but she didn't really care. The transmitter stopped working a minute ago, but he'd not had enough time to leave since then. Taking her fist she pounded once on the door.

"Come out Riddick. I know you're in there." She called. There was a pause before a small, feminine voice answered.

"I think you've got the wrong room." She paused, thinking that maybe Riddick was a sick bastard, but that young a girl he'd never gone for before.

"I do not, now open the door before I kick it in."

"Yeah right." The girl scoffed, "That's a solid metal door..." which was as far as the protest went before she slapped a mini explosive to the joints and ducked behind a corner to activate it.

"Down!" She heard Riddick command before the door blew into the room. As the smoke cleared the woman stepped into the empty doorway and aimed her gun carefully at the back of the bald head ducked behind the couch.

"Up Riddick." She ordered. She gestured with the gun, "You too." The small girl had been cradled protectively in Riddick's arms, as she rose she glared defiantly.

"Bitch." The kid muttered.

"That's right. Knees Riddick."

"Fuck you." He growled.

"No thanks."

"You're still mad at me?" Riddick rolled his eyes, "I couldn't pay you back, Johns fucking got me."

"Fucking got you is right. Can't even keep your pants up when you've got a million bounty on your shiny scalp."

"I'll pay you back when I can get to my cash." He crossed his arms and leaned against the couch.

"Where have I heard that before?" She mused, "Oh, right, the first time you blew up my ship!"

"Come on Pa..."

"Don't even." She warned. He held his hands up in surrender.

"Ok, then, what am I allowed to call you?"

"You call me Rieder, you try act all huggy with me I'll give you something to distract you." She gave him credit as she aimed a shot between his legs, scorching a tiny hole into the back of the couch. He didn't even jump a bit. The girl in the corner watched the byplay with a small smile on her face.

"Johns got you cause..." she started to laugh as he glared at her.

"Jack." He said shortly.

"Yeah?" she sputtered.

"Pack, now."

"All right... Stud." Jack snorted as he curled his lip and sighed.

"Brat."


	2. rieder

I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY! i didn't realize that i'd tacked the 2nd part onto the first chapter! show's you how well i planned that one out!

here's the chapter i worked on while on vacation- i really hope you like it!

* * *

disclaimers are so boring ya know?- Riddick and Jack ain't mine! boo-hoo

* * *

"You know, Riddick, its been a while since I'd seen you, but I never knew you went in for the whole…" she gestured toward Jack, who was calmly packing her clothes away in a large black bag she'd grabbed from the bathroom, "pedophile thing."

"You don't know a lot Rieder," Riddick smirked , "but that's like you. You never broke that unfortunate habit of toying with your prey."

"Ahh, but at the moment I have that luxury. You can't rush me before I stick a shiv in your little girlfriend there, so at the moment, I have the upper hand." She played with the silver key around her neck and chuckled, "besides, I like my habits, I see no reason to break them at this point in my life."

"Habits get you in trouble and make you predictable."

"How so?"

"You haven't figured it out yet?" Jack scoffed as she reached into the bag.

"What?" Rieder asked, amused that the girl could act so confident, "I know, you're a black belt and you can catch knives?" she teased.

"No." Jack stuck out her tongue, "but whatever I throw hits its target." With that she flung out her hand, a shiv from Riddicks bag left her fingertips and buried itself in Rieder's right arm. A shrill scream and a short scuffle later, Riddick sat on Rieders back and pulled the dagger from the bounty-hunters skin.

"Now you've made my life difficult." Riddick growled as she bit her lip, keeping the pain from her arm in focus. She could shoot herself for being so stupid. She should have known Riddick wouldn't travel with someone who couldn't keep up!

"Jack finish getting the essentials. We've got to blow tonight."

"Fine." The girl sighed, looked at the blasted door and shook her head, "but you'd think we could keep a hotel room for just one night!" she complained as Riddick hauled Rieder to her feet.

"I'll take her to the ship."

"Why?"

"Because I need to know how she found me." he explained patiently as Jack eyed the woman carefully.

"Fine." She spat out, "but be careful. And don't let her-"

"Jack."

"Wh-aa-T?"

"Just. Pack."

* * *

It was dark on the ship. Rieder stumbled a few times, wondering how Riddick could see where he was going, until she remembered his shine job. As if she had asked he turned around so she could see the gleam across his retina.

"You will behave. You will not harm the girl and I will not, I promise, kill you at the moment. But the second you lay a hand on that kid I will come down on you like the wrath of God." He growled, a cold streak ran down her back, making her shiver.

"Wow Riddick, I didn't know you were such a good guy." It was said sarcastically, but they both remembered the time she'd said it… and meant it.

"I'm not a nice guy." Riddick growled, "I kill people for money. Noone who does that can be termed a decent human being." He grabbed her arms and pushed her against the rough wall. "I take what I want, when I want it." His face swooped down, his lips stopped seconds before contact with hers. "And noone can stop me." his eyes gleamed in the soft light, they stared into hers with an intensity that suddenly made her aware of every brush of his body against hers. His legs were spread, but tight against hers so they couldn't move, his fingers clamped around her biceps and his chest pressed against hers. She could feel the steady beat of his heart against her breast. She took a shuddering breath as he smirked.

"And why do you let yourself believe that?" Rieder asked, his eyes narrowed as the lights suddenly came on full.

"Riddick?" Jacks voice traveled down the hall, echoing off the metal walls as she started down the corridor.

"This conversation is far from over Bountyhunter." Riddick hissed as he released her and took a few steps back. She took a deep breath as Jack rounded the corner and scanned the room for Riddick.

"There you are, the coordinates have been set, it'll take us a week to get to New Mecca. I sent the Holy man a message."

"Thanks Jack. Here…" He grabbed her arm again and shoved her at Jack. "Take her to the extra room. Don't leave the control room unlocked." Jack watched as the lady nodded stiffly at Riddick and fingered the silver key gently. For some reason, Jack knew, that before the journey was over someone was going to crack. And she knew it wouldn't be her.

"So, how do know Riddick?" Jack bounced down the hall fully confident the raven haired hunter would follow.

"He stole something that belonged to me, a long time ago." She shrugged, "So I've been after him ever since."

"What'd he take?"

"And wouldn't you like to know."

"Fine, don't tell me. I'll figure it out eventually."

"Tell me. How did you meet Riddick."

"You really want to know?" Jack turned around to face her, a smirk on her face.

"Yes. I really do."

"I'll tell you the first part of it, the rest you'll have to wait for." She smacked her palm on a reader and gestured for the bounty hunter to proceed into her holding cell. When the woman was safely in the room she smacked her palm against it again and said, "Lock."

"Wait, you said…" Jack let the smirk fall from her face as the door closed. But before it locked she answered.

"He didn't kill me, and things progressed from there."


	3. nightmares

My computer got wiped, so i lost the original versions of all my work. luckily i had some backups, but unfortunatly i hadn't take the time to back-up the last few chapters of each of my storys. its going to take a little time, but i'll get them back. promise- in the meantime, thank you for all your reviews!

* * *

It was dark, though for Riddick the night shone as bright as day from the tiny slit of light from the opening door. It creaked a little, he glanced over as the slender figure crept up to the bedside. He shifted as the body hesitated. A tiny smile, and the mattress creaked from the added weight. 

"Bad dream?" he grumbled.

"Just a little one." Jack smoothed the blanket over Riddicks shoulder before he could sit up.

"You want me to check the closet?" he teased gently. She smirked, as he knew she would, and lay down with her eyes looking into the strange gleam that came from his. He could almost hear her thoughts, a slight whisper as her breath let out heavily. He lifted a corner of the blanket and draped it over her shoulders. She let him gather her in like a giant teddy bear.

"They won't leave me alone." She whispered onto his bare chest. Her breath was warm, but she shuddered as she remembered. "They grab me, and I can't get away." She was shaking violently, he tightened his grip, "Why won't they leave me alone? Why can't I remember?" she cried and wrapped her arms around him, the only solid, constant thing in her life.

"Don't." Riddick growled in her ear as she hiccupped, trying to calm herself down. "Don't think about it. You'll know when you need to, when the time is right, you'll remember who hurt you…" He promised pressing her head to his chest, "And when you do, we'll kill them together, and the dreams will stop."

"But what if they don't?" Jack breathed him in, that solid scent that held the mysteries of the universe. Dirt, damp, blood.

"I'll make them." He held her, and stared at the wall as the heart he refused to acknowledge bled for the girl who fell asleep, safe in his grasp.

* * *

She was gone when he woke from a fitful sleep. He yanked himself from bed and realized the hollow where she had been was cold. She'd been up for a while, and had probably left before he started thrashing. He was grateful. She had enough to deal with from her own nightmares, he didn't want her to know about his. He grabbed a fresh shirt and towel, walked into the hall, and passed the holding cell on his way to the bathroom.

"So he was standing there, at the pit and they all thought he killed…" Jack looked up and saw Riddick at the open doorway.

"What did I tell you about this door?" he asked calmly. Jack wasn't fooled, neither was Rieder, he wasn't calm, he was pissed.

"Its supposed to stay closed?" Jack hazarded a guess.

"Surprise, surprise, a correct answer." His eyes went cold, Rieder felt a chill down her spine, "Now what did I tell you I would do if it didn't stay closed?"

"Please don't." Jack bit her lip and hugged her arms to her stomach defensively.

"Riddick-" Rieder stood and placed herself in front of Jack.

"Don't get in the middle of this Bounty hunter." Riddick snapped and started down the hall.

"Please!" Jack ran after him, stopping at the doorway, "I don't think my stomach can handle your cooking!" Jack complained, "Please stay out of the kitchen!" she slapped her hand to the door lock and followed after him.

"Cooking?" Rieder sat and bit her lip. "He threatens her with eggs?"

* * *

"She was really nervous." Jack smirked. "She thought you were going to hit me or something…"

"I just might if you keep leaving doors open like that." Riddick growled and dunked his head into the sink.

"Na, you'd space me in a second if I was in your way, but you'd never hit me." She looked away and whistled when his head came up, dripping.

"What was that?" he blinked, dimmed the lights over the mirror and looked over to where she was sitting on the toilet seat.

"Nothing. You wanna cook? Teach me a lesson?"

"I can't handle my own cooking today. Toast me up something, would you?"

"No prob." She got up and was half way down the isle toward the galley when his head stuck out the bathroom door.

"I wouldn't space you…" he scowled, "so just forget it."

Jack turned on her heel when his head disappeared again, and whistled as she thought of omelets.

* * *

"Breakfast?" Jack asked as she opened the cell.

"Richard make those?" Rieder asked as Jack set down a plate of cheddar omelets.

"Richard?"

"Riddick, his first name is Richard."

"I know, its just weird." Jack shrugged, "and what if he did make these?"

"I'm not hungry."

"I made them, eat up." Jack went back and locked the door, then sat with her knees drawn up to her chest against it.

"Thanks." Rieder took a bite, then devoured the first one. "Good." She mumbled through a mouthful.

"Why are you here?" Jack asked as she started on the second.

"You captured me." Rieder set the plate aside and took a sip of juice.

"No, you could have gotten away when we took the upper hand in the hotel. You chose not to." Jack got to her feet but stayed against the wall. "Why? What does Riddick have of yours that's so important that you'd let yourself get hijacked?"

"Its really none of your business kid." She finished the omelet and pushed the tray over to Jack. It bumped against her toes, she looked down.

The metal wasn't shiny-new, but it reflected well enough. Her brown hair wasn't long, or shorn to her skull anymore, but it flirted with her cheekbones, tickling her nose. She was her own person, much more than she had ever been before Riddick.

"I love him, and if there is something you are going to do that is going to hurt him, I'll have to kill you."

"You don't know what love is kid." Rieder got to her feet and mimicked Jacks pose against the wall.

"I don't mean how you mean it. Riddick is my family, he could have, and probably should have, killed me along time ago. If it would make him happy I would let him kill me. But somehow he's managed to keep me alive. I love him, and I will protect him."

"What the hell did he do to you? He's not a good guy!" Rieder yelled, flinging out her arms, "He is an assassin!"

"I know what he is. And he knows what he is. And if you don't see how that affects him, then you don't know who he is. If you're done with your breakfast, I'll leave you alone now." Jack bent to pick up the tray, turned it carefully and aimed the reflection straight at the mercenary. "Look at yourself, and ask yourself where it got messed up. I'm trying to." And with that she unlocked the door and disappeared into the dim hallway.


	4. here one minute, gone the next

"You know, Jack," Riddick was standing at the controls and looking out at the endless map of stars.

"Yeah?" Jack managed to ask after sliding out from under the control panels. She had a tangle of colored wires in her hand and a silly grin on her face.

"You hit Rieder perfectly. It wasn't an accident."

"Yeah, I know." Jack sat up and sorted through the wires. She needed the orange one, and separated it from the others. Before she could disappear under the black control panel Riddick leaned over and snagged her ankle.

"Been practicing?"

"I figured out why I can't aim." She admitted.

"And..?"

"I'm left handed. You kept trying to teach me how to fling with my right."

"But that's the hand you punch me with when we fight."

"Because that's the hand that hits harder." She shrugged, "I don't know why."

"We're going to get into this in practice."

"That's fine, but for right now, I have a com system to repair." She ducked under the controls and disappeared into a world of wires that gave Riddick a headache.

"Have fun." He muttered with only the clank of tools as his answer.

* * *

The door opened, Riddick stepped inside, Rieder looked up and groaned.

"I don't want to talk to you right now."

"You don't get much of a choice Bounty Hunter." Riddick pushed the door closed and leaned against it. "How did you find me?"

"It's not hard."

"Really? Indulge."

"A trail of bodies is a pretty simple thing to track Riddick." She shrugged, "I know you, patterns are easy to recognize."

"Anyone on my trail but you?"

"I doubt it. Everyone else who knew you as well as I do is dead." She looked over to the wall and scoffed gently to herself, "you know Riddick, James always thought he'd be the one to catch you." A single tear fell from her cheek, Riddick looked away.

"When?"

"Two months ago."

"I'm sorry Patty."

"Now you say my name, after you find out my brothers dead… You feeling sorry for me Richard?"

"Uncomfortable, maybe, never remorseful."

"Of course not. The great Riddick has never felt anything for anyone ever."

"Shut up."

"So when you said you cared about me, you were just shitting in the wind?"

"That was a long time ago."

"We were different people then Richard. But some things stay with you for a long time…"

"I spent a long time trying to forget shit like that, don't make me…"

"Feel again?" A long pause followed her question, and the glare in her eyes as she smirked at him made him hunch his shoulders defensively.

"I didn't mean it." He muttered finally.

"What was that?"

"When I told you that… I didn't mean it. I just said it because…"

"Because why?"

Riddick opened the door with a slap of his palm rebounding off the metal plate.

"It doesn't matter why. It was impulse."

"Coward." She shot out. He stopped in the doorway for a beat, then walked down the hallway after once again, closing her inside.

* * *

"You told me that if I told you how Riddick and I met, you'd tell me what he took."

"That was never an agreement, it wasn't a deal. I don't have to tell you shit."

"Fine, don't tell me." Jack shrugged as she leaned over for Rieder's tray. "But I would like to know how you met, if you want to tell me, that is."

"Why?"

"One story for another, fair trade."

"All right. I'll tell you a story." Rieder leaned her head against the wall across from the door, and the flicker of a smile moved over her face.

"We used to call him Rick. I was thirteen when he and my brother started hanging out, fixing old motors and installing them into these crap pieces of machinery they found in junk yards all over Ricker 8, small planet, lots of junk. Rick lived by himself, which wasn't unheard of for a sixteen year old male. My brother, James, and I lived by ourselves too. Parents tended to ship off and leave unwanted children behind. One day I was grabbed by hunters, looking for labor to sell off as slaves for the wealthy that lounged on one of Ricker 8's moons. Rick found me, saved me, I thought that he had just slipped past the gaurds at first. As we were running through the gated in junk yard I started seeing bodies, left and right, pools of blood running and bumping into my shoes. It was obvious that the men had all been killed, and I wondered how it happened. It never occurred to me that Rick had done it all. He was arrested soon after wanted on thirty-six counts of murder one, not all of them on our planet. I was with him when the bounty-hunters came. Eight of them. He told me to close my eyes. I did."

"And he killed them all."

"Every last one of them."

"And you helped him escape."

"Not right away, I asked him why he had saved me, if it was going to bring him to the ears of any who wanted him. He told me that he cared about me, and stayed with us until the next ship of hunters landed. He left without saying goodbye, he was just there one minute and gone the next. He had a habit of doing that."

"I know."

"So in the thought of maybe finding him again, James signed out on the next merc ship as a mechanic. Fifteen years of searching and he didn't find Rick again. But I did. Several times." She shook her head. "And it always ends with him leaving again. Without a word, here one minute, gone the next."


	5. confrontations

My sister told me this chapter was disturbing. So be forewarned. this is supposed to be dark, so don't get pissy if it depresses you. in the other hand, some of it made her laugh- so i guess its all your own point of view. have fun!

* * *

"I can't sleep." Jack muttered when Riddick stepped onto the bridge. The girl was curled in the pilots seat, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Me either." Riddick admitted.

"Is this sad or pathetic?"

"Both." Riddick sighed, picked the girl up and sat down in the seat himself. His huge arms enveloped her curled frame like prison bars.

"Riddick."

"What?" he asked when Jack hesitated.

"Why did you start?"

"Start what?" he knew what she was asking. He didn't know where to start. Hoping she'd drop it he laid his bald head against her shoulder, but tensed when she jerked it away.

"I need to know."

"You don't need to know anything about me but what I choose to share." he snapped.

A silence filled the control room as they both held their breath at his tone.

"Of course not." Jack whispered and went limp. "Let me go." her voice wavered.

"Jack-"

"No. If you don't want to share, you're right, you don't have to." she tried to push out of his arms but he held her in tight.

"I was eight when I killed my first man. At least, I think I was eight." Jack didn't move, didn't breath, afraid that if she interrupted in any way… "He was trying to molest me, so I took a shard of glass and shoved it into his eye. He died much later, after I found more glass and other various painful things to cut from his body."

"Riddick-"

"You wanted to know." he spat out, his muscles quivered from the strain of holding back his rage. "After that I was picked up by some street scum who thought that a young boy could kill people with impunity and never be caught. Well, they were right. And they didn't have any idea how skilled they made me until I killed them too. I picked up various techniques as I hiked across the galaxy. By the time I was fifteen I had killed more than a hundred and forty people. Most of them the rest of the galaxy doesn't know about, and couldn't care less about them being dead and gone. Trash. The others I was hired to kill when I needed funds. I met a lot of people on different planets who tried to "save" me, and more often than not it got them killed. Some of them were truly genuine people, others thought to trap me with kindness and turn me in for bounty. I always got away and I always left a river of blood in my wake. Do you want to hear more? Details? I remember every single throat I've ever slit. I know who I killed because they haunt my every sleeping moment. Do you want to know how I've killed? Techniques are simple to pick up. Skill is nothing more than practice Jack."

She shivered violently in his arms, but didn't resist or spring away as he hugged her tightly then let his arms fall to the rests on the chair.

"Go to bed Jack." he growled.

"Riddick-"

"Go to bed."

* * *

He wished he could slam the door, but it slid closed with a quiet woosh. She was sitting against a corner, her eyes closed in the darkness of the room.

"What did you tell her?" his voice was rough against the smooth walls.

"How you left us. How you looked when I thought you cared." she was more tired than she'd ever been in her life. Even after chasing him around the universe she wasn't as tired as she was whenever he came close to her.

"It was none of her business."

"Why did you save her Richard? Why if not to redeem yourself in some small insignificant way?" she was tired of asking herself the same question about why he saved her.

"It needed to be done. Everything I've ever done needed to be done."

"So your just a reaction then?" Rieder got to her feet and felt her way along the wall until she reached the door. If she held out her hand, she could touch him, but she still couldn't see him.

"Why don't you turn on the light?" he could see her perfectly, but she was grasping at thin air.

"Because I don't want to look at you. I'm afraid to see the monster you think you are." It was a solid hit. He could almost feel it bleed. But her hand touched his stomach, curled in his shirt and pulled. His body pressed up against hers as her hands trailed up his chest and onto his chin. She traced his lips with her fingers and bumped her forehead against his sternum.

"What are you doing?" he stood shock still as her hands fell to run down his arms.

"You don't feel like a monster."

"You know better than that."

"You feel like a man who has done too much to survive."

"I'm alive."

"And it pisses me off."

"I know." Riddick pulled her hands off his arms and clamped his own over hers. He yanked her firmly against him and swooped down to capture her lips with his own. "I did care." he muttered against her lips.

"I know." she felt her fingers curl around the tee shirt at his stomach and pulled it from the waist of his pants to feel the warm skin underneath. Warm skin and dozens of raised scars greeted her seeking fingers. Muscles were hard from strain, his fingers dug into her arms and his leg pushed between hers as he shoved her against the wall. His mouth still working against hers he suddenly gentled his fingers and traveled down to the bottom of her shirt. He pulled it off her and traced his fingers down her body until he reached her bra clasp.Flicking it open he pressed his palms against her breasts, filling his hands with the soft mounds.Breathing hard she arched against the cold metal of the wall and pulled his shirt off, flinging it against the opposite wall. It hit with a dull slap and slid down to the hard floor as Riddick shoved her down until he knelt above her.

"Patty…" he placed his forearms on either side of her head and kissed her gently, his body a scant inch from resting on hers, her knees pressed on both sides of his hips, "what do you want from me?"

"Proof." she licked his upper lip, he groaned.

"Of what?"

"I need to know Richard." he heard the tears in her voice. "Why did you stick around? Why did you save us only to leave us again?"

"If I had stayed, you would have died." Riddick gathered himself back behind the wall he'd erected as a child. He sat back on his heels and ran his right hand up her thigh. He pushed away from her and stood. "And if you stay with me you will."

"Richard-"

"No." Riddick walked to the door and slid it open. "Your not a prisoner anymore, but you're not staying with us either. I'll drop you off with the Holy man. Don't follow me anymore."

"What about that girl? Richard!" she protested as he slid the door closed again. Debating testing his word and stepping out after him she screamed in frustration.


	6. eggs

"Riddick?" she stood at the doorway, leaned against it, her arms crossed as if hugging herself, she had changed for bed, a long tee shirt and soft pants, but she couldn't try to sleep when she knew he was mad at her.

"I can't sleep." He stood on the bridge staring out at the billions of stars. He left the lights off, his eyes had been bothering him lately.

"You need to shave." Jack tisked.

"Not right now." He realized she was right, and felt the fuzz on his head. "Maybe I should just grow it out."

"Maybe you should."

"Really?" he turned to look at her, framed by the dim light from the hallway.

"Yeah, why do you shave anyway? Prematurely bald?" teasing she walked into the room and leaned against his shoulder until he shifted to gather her into his arms.

"If you don't have hair there's nothing for someone to pull on to give you incentive to follow." He muttered, "its easier to get away."

Jack sighed, he combed his fingers through her short cropped tresses, and looked out into the vastness of the star field. Neither of them noticed the bounty hunter standing behind them, a peculiar hurt evident on her features.

* * *

Rieder turned hastily, not willing to let them know that she had witnessed the tender moment. But the thoughts running through her head were difficult for her to reconcile with what she knew of the killer. He seemed to protect the girl as if she were a sister or daughter, but the embrace she caught them in was closer than anything she had ever shared with her own brother. She had been teasing him about the pedophile thing during her failed attempt at a capture, but what if they really were? She shook her head, no, if anything Richard was not one to take advantage of a girl. She knew he killed people, horribly, graphically, but she knew that he had his own code of honor and he stuck to it scrupulously. Was that why he hadn't…? He wouldn't take advantage of a situation in which she was unable to make a choice. He had been trying to convince her to go away, that staying with him would only hurt her. So he was pushing all the female fear buttons, but not really following up on any of them. He might be scum, but at least he was scum who could and did distinguish that line.

She really didn't relish going back to that room, so she followed the wall until it reached the kitchen. She sat at the tiny table and let her head fall to its cool surface. A dull thunk greeted her. The table was hollow, but that wasn't unusual in this kind of vessel. Every available space was used. Just out of base curiosity she opened the catch and flipped up the top. Time to see what a man like Riddick had in his closet… or, as the case may be, table.

* * *

He sent Jack to bed, hoping that maybe she'd sleep and he'd sleep, and maybe, just maybe they'd both sleep without nightmares. He passed the kitchen on the way to his room, but doubled back as he noticed the figure sitting on the floor with junk strewn on the floor and a small tattered stuffed bear in her arms.

"You're going through my stuff?" he asked, purely amazed.

"You kept him." Patty smiled up and hugged the bear tighter.

"Its not like I was going to space it or anything Pats." he looked down at the random tools and toys, the shell casings and magazine clips from vintage guns he played around with. If it was anything the table box was a toy chest. It included books from every topic he'd ever needed to know about to comic books. Bouncy balls and yo-yos were mixed in with shivs and a katana he'd taken off an ineffective ninja.

"But you kept him." she got to her feet and before he knew what she was doing she pressed the stuffed bear into his arms. "Go sleep, I'll clean this up." she shoved him down the hall with a kiss to his cheek. He got all the way to his bed before realizing he still had the stupid bear in his arms.

* * *

He woke the next morning, early, but later than he had been sleeping before. Maybe all the emotional bullshit from the previous night wiped him more than he thought. He sighed, rubbed his hand over the stubble on his skull and decided to shave it. He got to his feet and winced away as the overhead light flicked on.

"Gah!" he hissed and fumbled with his goggles.

"Sorry, forgot." Rieder flicked the light off again and stepped into the hallway, "heard you stirring, thought you'd be hungry. Toast?"

"You're cooking breakfast?" he waited for his eyes to adjust again and took off the goggles, he wouldn't need them in the dim hall.

"Yeah. Jack got up bout half an hour ago, I thought I'd scramble some eggs or something."

"We have eggs?"

"Apparently."

"Sure." Riddick shrugged, then, remembering how she used to cook for him, smiled. "You going to put cheese in them?"

"Sure." she smiled too, "I'll even make them soft so they go better on toast."

"Damn." he followed her to the kitchen, Jack was buried in her own breakfast and grunted when Riddick sat down, her mouth full.

"You should have told me you let her out. I almost shot her when I woke up and found her at the controls."

"Sorry. The controls?" Riddick turned to glare at Rieder.

"She was just looking out the window. I checked everything out."

"Good."

"Milk?" Rieder asked as she smirked at his distrusting gaze.

"Yes."

"Yes what?" he rolled his eyes.

"This is my ship. I don't have to say please." Riddick got to his feet and poured his own glass of milk.

"Richard." she said mildly.

"What?" he snapped.

"Put on your glasses." she warned a split second before turning the lights on full. He swore again while Jack tried not to laugh.

"What the-" he fumbled with the milk and his goggles with his eyes squeezed shut.

"I need to see the eggs so they don't get burned. Now sit down and let me cook breakfast."


	7. motion sickness and Imam

The planets land mass was a dull red, punctuated with tiny squares of green that indicated the growing centers. But the bulk of the planet was covered by the blue oceans and wispy white clouds. Jack had a hard time believing that the desert-like planet had any water on it at all, but Riddick had said something about terra-forming and experiments that hadn't gotten the right amount of attention. Reider added to Jacks knowledge when she said that the terra-forming was supposed to go in stages, that at the moment the Holy-mans planet was stuck in one of them, and the company that began it didn't have enough money to complete the rest of them.

"So its up to the planet to decide if it wants to become fertile, to take what the oceans give it and grow anything naturally." Riddick was hailed by port authorities, and giving it a dummy id he was invited to land. Jack took the second seat and strapped herself in as Riddick turned to the controls. Reider pulled down a seat that was folded into a wall, strapped in and took a few deep breaths.

"Still hate landing huh?" Riddick teased.

"I can take it if you don't do anything stupid." She snapped. Jack watched both with amusement. In the past two days that Reider had been unrestrained she had seen the two snipe at each other like any married couple. Apparently they knew each others weak spots and neither could stop pressing the buttons.

"Stupid like what?" she asked, willing to see if she could fuel the fire.

"Loops and falls and…"

"She gets motion-sickness." Riddick smirked.

"Only around you!" Reider shot back, "something about you churns my stomach is all." Reider sulked. Riddick grinned and began his decent.

* * *

The port they parked at was two miles from Imam's house. Jack knew that Riddick was just being cautious, but a two mile hike in hot, arid weather after being in the climate controlled ship really annoyed her.

"Couldn't you park any further away?" she asked sarcastically. Riddick ignored her, knowing that she was just cranky.

"Where are we going?" Reider asked, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. She liked heat, heat was good, but the heat that bounced off the ground was hotter than the heat around her head and it was starting to hurt her feet.

"To Imams, it's a few more minutes away." Riddick turned to Reider, "we'll stay there and figure out our next moves."

"Your next moves you mean."

"What?" Reider caught up with Riddick and hissed something that made him growl and pull away in response. Jack picked up her pace a bit until she was trailing in Riddicks shadow. That way they couldn't keep her out of the conversation.

"You're not leaving me behind." Reider muttered, but let the subject drop when she realized that Jacks ears were perking.

"Look!" Jack pointed to a brick adobe house like all the others, except for the pale blue cloth fluttering in one of the open windows. "Its safe! He knows we're back!" Jack giggled and ran forward as the front door opened to reveal a tall black man wearing a robe and wrapped head covering.

"Little Jacklyn." He opened his arms to envelope the girl in his arms. Jack willingly ran into them and wrapped her own around his waist.

"Imam." Riddick nodded, "This is Patricia Reider, we were hoping you might share hospitality." He shook Imams hand and pushed Reider forward with his hand at the small of her back. Imam bowed politely and Reider copied the movement, not sure of how to proceed.

"We are mostly not formal when at home Miss." Imam opened the door wider to permit them all inside. It was several degrees cooler inside than out, the thick walls and many filmy window hangings kept the heat from being oppressive. Knowing from experience that once out of the entrance hall and into the actual house there were air blockers and coolers for the living area prompted Jack to ask if her room was the same.

"It is young one. Go and unpack, my children have been asking for you, and are waiting in the courtyard. " Imam had flourished since their initial landing. He had been in wait from the locals and was greeted with much ceremony that Jack and Riddick had found easy to slip away from. But in the years since, Imam had only become wiser and luck had a way of rewarding the wise. He had a beautiful wife and many children, all of whom called Riddick "uncle" and Jack "cousin". While Jack fled to her room Imam assessed the situation with the two adults. "Richard, your room is the same as it has been." He handed Riddick the key to the only room in the house that needed a lock, and then nodded to Reider. "I have a spare guest room that has recently been used and is so aired out. If you would care to follow my wife…" Ishal had appeared by Reiders elbow without her being aware. The delicate woman was no taller than Jack, but the curves that showed from her loose robes scoffed at anyone thinking her a child. She moved with grace and as noiselessly as a snake slithering. Reider followed the womans swaying body with an envy that she couldn't move like that.

* * *

wow, i'm sorry its taking me so long to update. once again i find myself in possession of an unreliable computer. grrrr...

that and i'm way to lazy.

but don't be to disapointed, i know this chapter doesn't have much new info, but i am trying to set up to somthing...


	8. updates and robes

sorry about the updating schedule. but i want to thank everyone who reviewed and let me know that this is a story that i should continue. my friend "fixed" my computer so now i don't have an operating system, thank god for school computers. enjoy

* * *

Jack was still in her room when Riddick had finished updating his space. The square concrete room in the corner of the house had everything he had so far managed to collect from the other planets he'd left his catches at. He downloaded several new credit slips into his main base and stowed a couple of trinkets that he'd forgotten he'd had stored in his other hideaways. Imam's house was a safe house in a way that his other places weren't. Once again he updated his "final" message to Jack, in the event that anything happened to him, and he shook his head as he turned off the vid-recorder and cursed himself again for this strange attachment he had to the waif.

Riddick joined Imam in a courtyard that was cooled by the roof fans. His wife served a cool drink, fruity, non-alchoholic, but Riddick was used to the fact that the holy-man kept nothing "mind-altering" as he put it, in his home. To get a stiff drink, which he would want later in the evening, he would have to go to a bar- which he would.

"So this time, I think my friend, you would have something to ask of me?" Imam leaned back in his chair and sighed as a breeze flittered over his cheeks.

"I need you to keep Jack for a while. And if you have the inclination I would like to leave Patty here as well. Though you don't need to keep her if you don't want to, I just need to get out of here without any baggage." Riddick kept an ear out for the girls, the last thing he needed was two stowaways.

"What is different about this time Richard? You took Jack because she was miserable in school here. I do not think she would enjoy it again. She can not miss school if she is on planet, it is illegal."

"And I know you and your rules. I get it, but hopefully it won't be too long. I'm going to a couple planets where my largest hides are, but I don't want Jack around those places. They're one short step toward hell if you know what I mean."

"And you are afraid for her?"

"Hell no." Riddick denied, "she'll just slow me down. I can't watch my back and hers at the same time." Imam smiled but hid it behind his glass. He knew that the hunter cared for the girl, but if he wanted to hide it behind his tough façade, it was up to him.

"I will take care of the child for you Richard, and the other is welcome to stay as long as she obeys the laws." His head came up in a large grin as Jack entered the courtyard.

"Hello." She bowed her head slightly and whirled around to show Imam the robe he had placed on her bed when he knew they would arrive. "Its beautiful Imam." A light blue that fell around her young body like a cloud, and the smile on her face was softer than the ironic grin she usually shared with Riddick.

"It pales in comparison to your beauty young one." Imam rose and took her hands in his own. "It suits you." Jack blushed, Riddick looked away, feeling guilty for abandoning her in advance to his actual departure.

"Riddick?" Jack asked, noticing his reluctance. He looked up and nodded gently. It did suit her, it reminded him that she was younger than he usually thought she was. On the ship she was competent and sure of her own skills as a "Jack of all Trades". She was only… he blinked, she was seventeen now. They'd been traveling for years and all the time had somehow gotten away from him.

"You look good kid."

"You know Riddick…"

"I know, I know… you're not a kid." He smirked.

"That's right!" she jerked her head and crossed her arms under her chest. The mounds that were defined under the robe did nothing to convince Riddick that she was an adult. He chuckled under his breath, but coughed when he realized he'd been staring at Jacks chest. He looked away from her puzzled expression and cleared his throat.

"Where's Pat?"

"Right here." The voice was over his head, he looked up and laughed. Someone had decided to gift Reider with a robe as well. But the robe they had given her was pink. "Imam, not that I don't appreciate the hospitality, but your wife took all my clothes."

"She has taken them to be washed, they will be returned to you in the morning." He smiled pleasantly as Riddick got himself over his laughing fit. Even Jack looked a little smug. Riddick pulled Jacks arm down until her ear was at his lips.

"You minx." He muttered as Jack grinned and nodded.

"Dinner is soon to be served. Please relax and I will return to guide you to the table." Imam bowed out gracefully and left the trio alone.


	9. bars and clubs

its short but i'm writing this in between classes... acctually during classes- transcribing in between classes... theres more but i don't have time- update weds!

* * *

"I'm going out for a drink." Riddick leaned on the jamb of the door and watched as Jack's eyes switched from the magazine in her hand to him. She looked so small in the middle of the gigantic four poster bed. Somewhat like a little princess surrounded by the simple opulence of the room. The window hangings and the sheer fabric on the bed were all a shade of light blue that was like the sky. She ruined the effect of innocence by sneering and rolling her eyes.

"and I can't come." She finished his sentence.

"I'll be back shortly; The Rattlesnake is no place for a girl." He referred to the hole in the wall he frequented. It was the only bar in New Mecca that served straight liquor.

"I know." And she did, knowing that his thoughts, as well as hers, traveled back to the one time she'd followed him. She'd nearly been kidnapped the second she walked in the door. She broke the mans kneecap and turned only to run into Riddick, who had been more than happy to break the mans nose then haul her up on his shoulder to take her back to Imam. He'd been icily silent the entire way, and then made her promise never to follow him again. She agreed, shaking, cold, and had kept that promise ever since.

"Just get some sleep; I'll see you in the morning."

"Right. Riddick, be careful." Jack went back to her magazine, leaving him a moment of unguarded study. She was way to young to keep bouncing around the galaxy with an assassin. She deserved a normal life… he scoffed and turned away closing the door lightly. Since when was life ever normal?

* * *

Jack waited until she was sure he had left. The shadow slipped from the back door under her window and down the street silently. She pulled her trunk from under the bed and pulled out her club clothes. It had been a while since she'd been able to find a good rave on a planet, she wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity when it knocked. The people at the Unicorn kept telling her to visit as she sent them song tracks from other planets, and she couldn't wait to just forget everything else on the dance floor. She slid in to outfit and wasted precious minutes slicking on thick kohl eyeliner and clear lip gloss. She gelled her hair into thick spikes and grinned at her reflection.

"Its party time!"

* * *

Riddick glared at the "Closed" sign nailed over the door of the only bar in New Mecca. The Rattlesnake had been a pit, but it had been his pit. The only place he felt confortable in on the entire planet. He contemplated going in and checking to see if anyone had left behind any liquor, but shook his head and realized that the only thing left was probably rats.

"Shit, I really need a drink."

* * *

He walked until he saw the bright neon lights. It looked like a club, the sort that had a million people all vying for attention with gyrating hips and scant cloth coverage. It would have alcohol, that's all he really cared about. He hesitated a bit about going in, the sign at the door said "Unicorn". A sissy name for a sissy bar. But he went in anyway. Riddick went straight to the bar and glared at the kid sitting at the end. He almost fell off the stool, he was in such a hurry to move out of the big mans way. Riddick sat and mumbled something about spiky haired brats with too much metal in their face. The kid had staples everywhere, in his eyebrows, his lips, his nose… a big enough magnet or a strong tug would scar that kid for life.

He didn't hold much hope when the bartender sauntered over. Tall, with blond hair that hung straight to her hips, she smiled and rested her long fingers on a tiny waist that was unencumbered by cloth. Riddick appreciated the view before growling about a drink.

"If it doesn't taste like the Tropics I'll be grateful." She made a snap judgement and pulled out an old bottle from behind the bar. Riddick blinked and grinned as he read the label. "Johnny Walker… black label… they only make that on old Earth."

"Can ya take it?" she snapped her gum and slapped a glass on the table.

"I can afford it, neat." He waited while she poured and actually thanked her. When she told him her name was Lilly, and to call her name if he needed anything else, he was actually thinking that this club might be better than the old Rattlesnake, the help was certainly more attractive. Lilly winked and sauntered back to the other side of the bar where kids barely legal shouted their orders over the pounding techno trance.


	10. down with me

When the music suddenly paused Riddick turned in his seat and looked up at the DJ booth. There was a slim figure chatting with the lanky boy whose knit cap was pulled snug over rioting dreads and a large set of headphones. He handed her a microphone headset and kissed her cheek when she bounced from the stand to the dance floor.

"Hey guys! We've got our very own planet hopping music maker back for a night of action! The Unicorns favorite girl-io has some new tunes for ya'll!" he shouted when the crowd began yelling for the music to start. Riddick smirked as he saw the girl cleared a round area by shoving people out of her way. The lights were still twirling at full speed, so the impression that was left of the kid was a shadow and the occasional glint of metal. It seemed like her entire outfit, made of skin tight black cloth, was held on by the dubious strength of a million little safety pins. At every seam the little silver pieces glinted, and pale skin showed beneath. Riddick took a sip and prepared to watch the show.

* * *

Jack stood in the middle of a crowd of people. She recognized some faces and was happy when she realized that those who didn't know what she was doing there were quickly hushed by those who did. 

"Jaquline?" Terence asked from the booth, his voice fed directly into the headphones he'd given her.

"Heya." She nodded and waited for the beat to begin. She'd found songs from different planets, some from old times, some from new. But she'd discovered that what she really liked to do was take older, waaaaay older, songs and put them to new beats, keeping them alive with mixes of different styles. She'd given T so many new mixes that the poor guys eyes almost popped out of his head.

"E'RLONG!" Terence yelled to the audience as the deceptive beginning of the tune floated gently from the speakers.

_"Hello, I've waited here for you, everlong _

_Tonight, I throw myself into and out of the red,_

_Out of her head she sang…"_

Jack sang softly, over the hush in the crowd, the confusion of the clubbers. Then she smiled wickedly as the new bass beat pounded the floor.

_"Come down and waste away with me, down with me_

_Slow how, you wanted it to be,_

_I'm over my head, out of her head she sang…"_

She flung herself into the middle of the space she'd cleared and began dancing, keeping the movements simple at first. She pulled people from the audience and got them to start dancing, and soon the entire club was once again hopping as Jack started the chorus.

_"And I wonder when I sing along with you_

_If everything could ever feel this real forever_

_If anything could ever be this good again_

_The only thing I'll ever ask of you_

_You've got to promise not to stop when I say when-"

* * *

_

After the first verse Riddick had forgotten about his drink, though it was still gripped in his hand. He knew that voice, he knew that song.

_"She Sang…"_

Jack had been messing around with it on the ships computer adding things to it, perfecting it and others in her free time. She told him it was something that relaxed her. He watched, glared really, at the lithe black form moving with skill through the packed dance floor. She would pause every once in a while and dance with a guy, though it wasn't really dancing so much as twining her limbs around him and hanging on while he performed various acts that would be illegal in public if they'd been naked. Now while he watched she slipped from one guys grasp into anothers, the beat suddenly stopped and her movements became fluid as she rested her hand on the guys cheek and looked into his eyes.

* * *

_"Breathe out, so I can breathe you in, hold you in_

_And now, I know you've always been out of your head,"_ she kissed his cheek and wandered through the crowd that had paused at the sound of her voice soothing to the melody.

_"Out of my head I sang…"_ she threw her hand in the air as the beat once again began and threw the crowd back into its frenzy.

_"And I wonder when I sing along with you_

_If everything could ever feel this real forever_

_If anything could ever be this good again_

_The only thing I'll ever ask of you_

_You've got to promise not to stop when I say"_

Jack was in her element as she danced from one guy to a group of old friends and back to total strangers. She sang out and bumped hips, winding her hands over her head she danced by herself and let the music dictate her mood. Her back bumped into an immovable object, probably a guy dragged by a girl into the dancing, who was too self conscious to let loose. She smiled and, determined to make everyone have fun, she turned to dance with him.

_"When she sang"_

Riddick grabbed her wrist as her eyes grew wide. Then she closed them and hung her head. She looked utterly defeated, though Riddick didn't understand why. Once again the music hushed, the crowd stopped jumping and Jack's voice echoed in the suddenly empty-seeming room.

_"And I wonder if everything could ever feel this real forever_

_If anything could ever be this good again_

_The only thing I'll ever ask of you_

_You've got to promise not to stop when I say when."_

Her wrist was being held over her head, she could feel all the eyes on her as the song ended. She'd been caught, Riddick was going to yell at her, he was never going to let her do anything again. She was well aware that the crowd was waiting for the show to begin.

"Have fun." Riddick let her hand drop and walked from the floor. A line of dancers cleared out of the way for him, rushing to dive from his path.

"Well…" T's voice from the stand was echoing in her ears.

"Start the next one T." Jack grinned as the outside door slammed shut. Riddick had walked, he'd let her stay. She would examine her reactions to his softly veiled threat later. She rubbed her wrist, carefully as the beat began and she smiled. It was going to bruise, horribly, but that was no reason not to have fun.

* * *

Everlong- Foo Fighters. (does not now and will never belong to me... awesome song though.)


	11. girl talk

Riddick pushed through the crowd outside, waiting to get in, and took a deep breath of cold night air. In his head he could see her, like a reed in the crowd, naturally shifting so that she was always moving, always the center of attention. She was a woman in that club, full of confidence, a strength he hadn't known she possessed. He rubbed his bald head in frustration and let out a groan.

"I'm going to hell." He muttered, not for the first time in his existence, but for the first time really meaning it. She was beautiful surrounded by those lights, he'd felt his heart almost burst as he watched her. Automatically he'd gone down to drag her away from all those people, she was his, and he didn't want to share.

The second he'd grabbed her wrist he'd seen the fear in her eyes; the tears that almost popped to the surface, then the hidden shame as she looked away. It was the shame more than anything that made him back up. Why couldn't she share this with him? Was she afraid of him? Really?

* * *

Jack continued to dance, to sing, to refuse offers of rides home from strange men and to sway with them anyway. When one became to grabby she'd pull another persons arm and be rescued. She'd had a long experience with night clubs since traveling with Riddick. He'd always forbid her from leaving the room, but she never gave him her promise. She'd been to so many clubs while Riddick was working that she knew every song that T played and then some. Sometimes she would sing, sometimes she would just dance, but it all equaled freedom to her. She'd never told Riddick because she knew he wouldn't like her going out by herself.

She was a target. She knew that. Not only from Riddicks past, but from her own. Sitting in a hotel room or waiting in the ship though was boring. Not only boring but dangerous, is what she told herself. If anyone knew where she was they would come get her when Riddick was gone, occupied. So she would leave and slip back in before he returned from whatever he was doing.

Maybe as she got older she should have let him know. But she was so used to keeping it to herself that when she did think of it she'd dismiss it to a different time.

Now he knew. She stopped dancing and walked to the edge of the floor. Leaning against the bar she pushed the heel of her hand over her heart.

He was pissed. She knew it. He'd leave her…

* * *

Riddick was thinking just the same thing. She was growing up, she'd leave him… He growled, what did he care? Its not like she was important to him or anything. He didn't even really like her. He was so caught up in debating with himself that he turned into a dark alley and slammed directly into a tall black man who stood in the middle of it.

"Move now." Riddick hissed at the mans chest. He was not in the mood for obstructions. The muscles in his chest wiggled, Riddick noted, as he flexed his biceps.

"You gonna make me short stuff?" the voice was deep, and somewhat familiar. Riddick sighed and trailed his eyesight up the chest to the throat, over the long scar that ran from the bottom of a fat lip to the top of the left eye.

"Don't make me hurt you Chi." Riddick smiled. Bounty hunters were so predictable it was scary. First his hand shot out to wrap around Riddicks throat, then he squeezed. Riddick didn't claw at the hand as it cut off his air. Instead he pulled a shiv from his waistband and planted it in the back of Chi's hand. He immediately released Riddicks throat and started screaming.

* * *

Lilly passed Jack a glass of water, taking a sip of the scotch that Riddick had left behind as she leaned over to talk to the singer.

"Your friend paid for his drink but didn't really drink it. Is he coming back?" Jack looked up from the water and looked back down.

"He's mad at me." She mumbled. "He's never going to talk to me again."

"Naw. He's just confused darling." Lilly patted Jacks hand and smirked, "He doesn't know what to do with you. Trust me, I've seen that look on so many mens faces its almost funny."

"What look?" Jack looked up and grabbed Lilly's hand. The bartender took another sip and smirked.

"I'd say he swallowed a big chunk o'love and doesn't know how to wash it down."

* * *

Riddicks hand clamped over Chi's mouth, effectively cutting the scream down to panicked whimpers.

"I'm really not in the mood to play with you or your friends Chi. I'm telling you to cut your losses and get lost before I have six more notches to add to my bedpost." The five shadows around the mouth of the alley suddenly lessened by three. Only two of them had been professionals, the others had been city scum who'd been bribed to play distraction while the three man team did the real work.

"Didn't pay them enough for a funeral huh?" Riddick laughed. The remaining two didn't move until Riddick pulled Chi up and shoved him at his partners. "get him out of here, before I change my mind." They were gone before he realized that his favorite shiv was still stuck in that bastards hand.

* * *

"Love?"

"I don't know what kind of love, but the dudes got feelings." Lilly nodded and ignored the bopper at the other end of the bar, waving his hand at her for service.

"Well…"

"Honey, I'm a bartender, I'm more sacred to some of these guys than a confessional. I hear so much and see so much that its an instinct now. I got the impression that he was a guy who was really, really internal."

"Yeah…"

"So the fact that I saw anything flicker on his face came as such a shock… I wouldn't misinterpret. Trust me doll." Lilly looked over at the bopper and flicked him off, "I'll get there when I get there!"

"He didn't know that I left the house. He's pissed!" Jack looked down at the bar, and Lilly followed her gaze. She grabbed Jacks hand and examined the bruise.

"He did this?" Jack nodded, "When he grabbed it out there?" she nodded again, "Dudes got skill." Reluctantly admiring. Jack grinned.

"You have no idea." Suddenly she felt so much better. The guy who'd been waiting for drinks moved down the bar and slapped his hand on the smooth surface next to Lillys. Lilly raised her eyebrow and cocked her head.

"What?"

"I want a drink. Now."

"And I told you I'd GET there." She turned to the woman on the other side of Jack who'd just walked up. "Whatya want honey?"

"Bitch, NOW." He grabbed Lillys hand as she started away, but released it abruptly when not only Lilly, but Jack pulled back their fists and simultaniously punched out. Jack got him in the kidney while Lilly bloodied his nose.

"Wuss." Jack scoffed and winked at Lilly. The bartender mearly took another sip of Riddicks drink and cocked an eyebrow.

"Totally."

* * *

so, just fooling around right now. hope you enjoy! btw- thanks for reviewing!


	12. alone

Riddick paused as Imam called his name, one foot on the stairs his hand rested lightly on the banister. Imam didn't show a reaction from the glare in Riddicks eyes. The shining silver from his pupils bounced the low light like a cats.

"Jack is not in her room." Imam worried his hands. Riddick only continued down the stairs.

"I know." Imam rushed after him.

"You know where she is?"

"She snuck out. She's at a dance club. Apparently she's a regular, Imam, she'll be fine." Riddick had convinced himself before he'd left her there. But apparently she'd be fine without him worrying anyway. He scoffed. She didn't need him anymore.

"What are you doing?" Riddick had entered his room and began shoving shirts into a travel bag.

"I told you I was leaving."

"So soon?" Imam asked.

"The sooner the better Holy-man."

"You are upset?"

"That's an understatement. Just keep Jack safe while she's here. While you can."

"You will be back?" Imam stepped forward, well aware that he was risking his life standing between the silently furious man and his packing, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"…" Riddick paused.

"Richard…"

"Time will tell."

* * *

Jack was still singing at last call. In fact she'd re-introduced a song that T felt was perfect for closing time. Ironically enough that was its title; Closing Time, and Jack sang it while sitting next to T in the booth.

"So girl-io, you sticking around for a while this time?" T asked as he started stacking his cases for storage.

"Hopefully. I'm not really in command of my own schedule." She shrugged.

"Jaquline, darling." T refused to cal her Jack, it was to masculine.

"That big guy…"

"The one who stopped the hearts of many patrons this night simply by being to gorgeous to be that dangerous?" T hazarded a guess.

"That would be the one."

"Well congrats." T tipped his hat to her, making her grin.

"Its not that way."

"And why not?" T locked up his music and took her hand, leading her from the booth.

"He still thinks of me as this kid who needs his protection."

"Ah…" T twirled her under his arm, and wrapped his other arm around her waist, waltzing to nothing.

"He's upset with me because I didn't tell him about the club. He's not going to talk to me when I get home."

"Then don't talk…" T leaned back a bit so he could look her in the eye, "Let your eyes talk for you. Let your hands express themselves…" he ran his own up her arms and cupped her chin delicately between two large hands. "Don't let him make excuses, don't give him time to think…" He was staring into Jacks eyes, sweetly his fingers twisted through her hair and he gave her a little tug to bring her to her toes. Their lips matched perfectly, he whispered, "just go for it." his tounge traced her lips delicatly, they were trembling.

As suddenly as a thought he let Jack go and held her shoulders as she swayed. She let out a deep breath that she wasn't aware she'd been holding.

"Holy crap!" Jack clenched his forearms and leaned her head against his chest. T chuckled deeply,his arms wrapped around her slight form,she felt the tremors through the muscle.

"Trust me Jaquline, that man has no defenses against you."

* * *

Walking home alone wasn't an option. Both Lilly and T has vetoed that. Instead they shared a cab, dropping others off along the way. T was the last person in the car when Jack was dropped off.

"Just remember, don't give him time to think." She'd felt pretty good when they'd left the club. But standing outside the house, with Riddick on the other side, trepidation wasn't the right word, she was terrified.

Jack was shaking as she opened the door and stepped inside. She'd noticed that the porch light was on, which meant Riddick had come home and Imam knew she'd need a welcome when she returned. Imam was waiting in the foyer, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Jaclyn." His voice held a hint of disapproval, but she looked up sharply at the pity she'd heard in his tone.

"Where is he?" she twirled and ran toward Riddicks room. The door was still open, signs of hasty packing evident.

"He will be back." Imam rested his hand on her tense shoulder. Her hand gripped the door handle until he noticed it shaking, the knuckles pure white. "He left you a letter." He pulled a folded piece of paper from his robe pocket and handed it to her. She took it carefully and looked up into Imams eyes.

"He won't be back. He doesn't have any reason to."


	13. jewelry and football

I… hate… school… Jack sat at her desk, her head held up by her ring bedecked hand, her eyelids drooped. They snapped open as her teachers wooden ruler slapped down on her desk, narrowly missing the hand that held her pen. She looked up, glaring into Mrs. Jonsons spectacles. The light from the windows reflected off the glass so all she saw was the sunshine. Three girls, all perfectly blond and petite, sat in the front row and giggled at Jack's discomfort.

"Maybe if one did not stay up until all hours, one could pay attention to Our class." Mrs. Jonson liked to use the royal "We". Jack merely blinked as the bell rang for change of class. She stood, smoothed out the short pleated skirt that was required, and gathered her notebook into her beaten leather shoulder bag.

"Maybe if one wasn't so goddamn boring, We would stay awake." Jack muttered as she passed the "princesses." Mrs. Jonson liked them all because they were like her. They all took perfect notes and sneered at Jack as she passed. Jack didn't bother to sneer back, she could really care less.

* * *

She sat in the yard, a sandwich and a mug of juice for lunch as she watched several classmates fool around with an odd shaped ball one of them had gotten from a brother who was based on old Terra. There was a set of rules involving bending over, throwing the ball between your legs and running into who ever ended up with the ball until they could no longer move. It looked interesting, Jack mused as she took another bite. She unfolded the latest letter she'd gotten from Reider. She sent one every month, along with a thick silver ring. Jack studied each one before looking down at the paper. She had seven so far. One was a hawks head, the beak covered the middle knuckle of her right hand. A snake twined around the middle of her left, a thick band with archaic writing on her left thumb, and a simple plain band around her right index. Two of them were identical but for color and made on different planets. Those were on her pinkies, each one set with a gem, blue and green, and surrounded by Celtic designs. The last one, which had come with this letter, was a wolf's head, which she placed on her right thumb, its canny eyes winked emerald green.

"I haven't found him yet… but I will." Jack read.

Reider had left shortly after Riddick, and she had promised to bring the big man back. Jack had still been in a state of shock, so had only managed a quiet nod and a grasping hug before the woman had departed on the next cargo ship. Her craft was still on the first planet, and she needed to get it back.

In the meantime… Jack folded the letter and placed it back into the slim pocket on her long leather boots. She adjusted the buckles and looked up just in time to see the strange ball arch toward her. Instead of being smacked in the head she caught it from pure reflex.

"Girl!" One of the guys shouted. "Toss it over!" Jack stood and brushed off her thick black tights, adjusted her grip over the laces and threw it as hard as she could. The boy grunted a bit as it impacted his chest. He gave her an appreciative grin. Jack smiled back. "Wanna play?" he asked. Jack shrugged.

"Sure."

* * *

Riddick sat in a dim bar, his hands locked behind his back, hooked to the legs of the chair. His captors had agreed to take in a drink to toast their victory. While they laughed Riddick yawned and decided to take a quick nap. They really had nothing to celebrate over. There had been twelve of them to start with, and the three who sat at the table where so cut up that they could only use four hands between them, see out of five eyes, and talk from two mouths. Riddick on the other hand was just tired.

Besides, he needed a way into the compound they worked in, some ass had stolen his stash and relocated it in their bosses camp.

"To our fallen comrades," one of them toasted, "and the bigger bounty we all receive because of'em." He snorted into his beer and tapped Riddick's bald head belligerently. Eight months ago that move would have earned him a quick and painful death. But Riddick found his style rapidly decreasing as he traveled around. He refused to believe it had anything to do with Jack, but he found himself in bed at night, reaching for her…

* * *

Jack opened the mail box, pulled out a thick envelope and small box. They were both addressed to her, so she tucked them in her bag before opening the door and greeting Imam's wife. She went up to her room and opened the box. In the past few months Reider had been sending her earrings. It had been thirteen months since they'd seen Riddick, and Jack had run out of fingers.

She looked at the tiny skull and crossbones and smiled. She was on the water planet, Jack couldn't remember its name, but remembered that Riddick had refused to take her there because of the pirates. She took the tiny hoop out of the top of her left ear and replaced it with the stud.

"He was here three days ago. There are only a few planets left to try and I think I have a pretty good lead. When I catch up with the bastard he's going to wish he'd never been born." Reider had begun to add threats to her letters. Ones that Jack agreed with wholeheartedly.

* * *

"So congratulations, you've found me again." Riddick was slumped in his ships kitchen, obviously a few drinks into the wind. "What are you a fucking bloodhound?"

"You're trashed." Reider took the bottle from Riddicks hand and tilted it. It was the fifth empty bottle she'd seen since she'd opened the unlocked door to the outside, the seventh since she started following his trail from the bar she'd enquired at. And apparently he'd been drinking a bit at that establishment for a few hours before he'd left.

"You know what day it is?" Riddick asked with a goofy grin on his face.

"Yes, I do, and so do you apparently." She tugged him to his feet and let him hang over her. He pressed his face to her neck and breathed in deep.

"You smell good." He mumbled, his arm around her waist, his fingers starting to trail up.

"A-ha… nope." She pushed his arms away and grabbed shoulders before he could fall. "Wow… you know, I don't think I've ever seen you like this before."

"She really, really, really, hates me." His head lolled loosely.

"You idiot." Reider shook her head. "She thinks you hate her!"

"I couldn't hate her… she keeps the dreams away…" Riddick followed her as she manuvuered him into his room. "Or maybe I keep the dreams away…"

"Or maybe both you dolt." Reider mumbled as she pulled his shirt from his waistband and loosened his belt. He'd lost weight in the last two years since she saw him, and led her to believe that he wasn't really eating well; he probably got all his nutrition from the bottles she saw scattered everywhere on her way to his bedroom.

"I miss my Jacky…" Riddick mumbled as she pushed him onto the bed. She grabbed his boots off and covered him with a blanket.

"Not for long." She went to slap off the lights and was distracted by a small white box with Jacks name and address attached to it. Opening it she saw a long silver chain, with a single small medallion on it. Etched on the medallion was an ancient Chinese symbol for luck.

"Well, what do we have here?"


	14. figure me out

Jack was down on the dance floor, her hands twined above her hands and she closed her eyes. She swayed slowly, ignoring the beat, but listening carefully to the classical jazz underneath it. She smiled as she whirled around, flowing through the crowd, around the gathered groups of bodies. When the song came to a close she heard a voice in her ear. T spoke through the headpiece.

"Ready doll?"

"Always." She replied with a wicked grin.

* * *

Lilly stood at her station and poured mixed drinks for a group of partiers with a couple of birthdays to celebrate. She listened to the music and bounced her head to the beat as Jack began to sing.

_"This just in, where to begin  
grin and bear it, it's bear and grim  
adoration, titillation  
I'm a victim now…."_

"Of course it would be this one." Lilly mused as she poured a shot into a fruity concoction. She'd listened to Jack and T go over the mechanics earlier that morning. It was a fun song, one that their resident crooner loved. A year a go Jack had convinced Sal, the owner of the Unicorn, to hire her on as a perminant fixture. The crowds had only gotten thicker since then.

_"because she's figured me out"_

* * *

Jack laughed as she bounced around the dancers and was lifted to the stage by a couple of bouncers.

_"She lights my candle, she has a handle on me  
It's going well but I'm scared as hell  
That she'll figure me out  
She thinks it's sacred to be naked  
But I don't care, 'cause she's had me there  
You see she's figured me out"_

For the past three years she'd been singing at the club, waiting for something else to happen. It was a good midway point, one that kept her happy while she waited for the next stage of her life. But lately…

* * *

Terence, in his tower watched as his Jacquline bounced. It seemed a little more manic than it had in the morning. The girl had something on her mind that had nothing to do with music. She'd been nervous before the club opened. She had said it was nothing, but she twined her fingers around a silver medallion that he'd never seen before. When he asked about it, she laughed and dropped it into her tight black shirt. It was a raised indent on her chest under the cloth, but he didn't ask again.

_"And I wanna shout at the top of my lungs now  
But oh my god, if she hears me she'll come running in...  
These are my hands, these are my faults  
These are my plans  
These are my nasty little thoughts  
I wrote 'em down for you to contemplate  
at a later date…"

* * *

_

The letter that had appeared in the mail that morning had been brief, like all of Rieders letters. But this one had been cryptic as her others hadn't been. "I'm sorry, I'm coming back." And the medallion that accompanied it had been in the box with the letter inside. All the other times they had appeared separate, and sometimes a couple of days apart. Jack jumped back down onto the floor and danced with a couple of regulars. She knew they came to see her, they made a point of stopping by. Most of the guys at the Unicorn where pretty nice; the bouncers made sure she wasn't disturbed.

_"Well the word is out, what's it all about  
Doubtless shady, no shadow of doubt  
In moderation, this sensation would be fabulous…"

* * *

_

Reider hadn't been to The Unicorn before, but when she stopped by to see Jack at Imam's she'd been informed thatthe girlwas at work. She dropped off her bags and immediately asked for directions. She walked in, surveyed the happy, bouncing people, and automatically went to the bar. As she sat, on the same stool that Riddick had taken, Lilly looked over and smirked.

"We don't see many heavy drinkers here. What'll it be?"

"Anything that's not fruity." Reider scowled at the menu.

"You just killed my entire repertoire! How 'bout coffee?" At the nod Lilly mixed up a coffee drink that wouldn't offend the bounty hunters sensibilities.

_"But she's figured me out  
She's in my shower for an hour  
She's just washin' and wonderin'  
And trying to figure me out..."

* * *

_

While Lilly was trying to figure out her mysterious customer Jack decided to climb T's booth. She hung on about halfway up the metal grate and belted out the bridge.

_"It's a little bit of something that I feel...  
Oh man, I just can't deal...  
And other than this distance that has covered me  
Can't you see that you have smothered me?"_

Reider slammed her drink down on the bar and left a crumbled paper bill behind.

"What is that damn girl doing? She's gonna fall and Riddicks gonna have my head!" Lilly raised her brow as she stalked from her seat onto the dance floor. She'd heard Jack talk about a guy she called Rid, maybe the hard drinker was a mutual friend? In any case she decided to call T in his booth, and give the girl a heads up.

Jack heard T in her headset as she was going over the refrain, but didn't listen to him. She was just about to finish her show up, she was going to have a drink, then she'd hide in the employee lounge until closing. Jack was more wiped out than she had thought.

_"Well, you're out there, just stay out there  
Just when I was on to something else  
That's when she figures me out!"_

With the last exclamation she threw her hands out wide and fell into the crowd. Neatly catching her they cheered and bounced her up into the air again.

"Jaquline! Lilly says bogey in aisle three!" she finally heard T's warning, but felt the hand wrap around her bicep too late for it to be much of one. She was swung down to the ground and spun to face an angry pair of eyes before she could respond.

"HOLY SHIT!" Jack screamed, her microphone still on. "You scared the crap out of me!" the speakers echoed and the crowd went still. T flipped off her headset and clicked on his own microphone.

"Old friends are entitled to bump your blood pressure up!" he joked and piped in the next song. Before long the entire floor was once again bumping, and Jack was dragging Reider into the employee lounge.

* * *

Ok, i know that some people aren't a big fan of putting music into these things, but i like these songs, and its the only medium that i have to express that. besides, what else is Jack going to do, pine away? If i didn't think my poetry sucked i'd use some of that for new songs. but you guys wouldn't get into it as much because there wouldn't be music playing in your head. any if you've never heard the songs i'm quoting and you become interested in some great new music because i pointed it out to you, then good. my mission is complete.

this song is washin' n wonderin' by stroke 9. check it out!


	15. hope

Reider sat across from the other half of the odd couple in the brightly lit and plushly decorated employee lounge of the Unicorn. Jack was taller than she remembered. Her hair was jet black and spiked up. Her makeup was dark to match the hair. Her lace body suit showed skin underneath, and muscle that had obviously been built with care. Black tights and a black bra preserved modesty where thigh high leather boots defied it. She was festooned with silver jewelry. The silver medallion rested in the curve of her breasts.

* * *

"_You're being an idiot." Reider sat on the side of the bed while Riddick blinked his eyes. The room was dark, a sliver of light showed through the door crack._

"_How so?" his head hurt, he resisted the urge to turn his back to her. Not only because it would make his head pound even more, but because Pat was still a mercenary bounty hunter and it paid to remember that. She might think about kidnapping him while he was incapacitated.

* * *

_

She no longer looked like a teenager, but a young woman just learning her own power. Reider smirked as she took the forgotten coffee drink from Jack's hand.

"Thanks." Jack sat on the plush red couch and looked like a shadow in the midst of the bright fabric.

* * *

"_She doesn't hate you."_

"_You don't know her like I do. I broke every promise I ever made her by leaving her behind."_

"_So she's sad, angry, but she doesn't hate you. Riddick I know. You left me and all I feel is mild resentment." Reider laughed, Riddick groaned as her voice echoed in his head.

* * *

_

"For what?"

"The presents. It was nice to get something in the mail."

"I didn't send you any presents." Reider knew perfectly well what process began to swirl in Jacks mind. Reider followed Riddick through the mail system. It was ridiculously easy to hack into return address files.

* * *

"_Are you done?" Riddick snarled._

"_Are you?"_

"_How so?"_

"_How many planets left?"_

"_None." In fact there had been none for the past year. He just…_

"_Then lets go back to New Mecca."

* * *

_

Jack got to her feet and clutched the silver medallion in one hand.

"Did you find him?"

"…"

"Reider!"

"…"

"Excuse me." She left Pat sitting, sipping her coffee with a hidden smile and went out into T's booth. She slipped her hands around his stomach and leaned her head against his back.

* * *

"_I'm never going back." He sat up as the ship shifted around him. He hadn't known they were airborne…_

_:destination- New Mecca…:_

"_Damn it Pat!"_

"_Richard…"_

_:Please contact planetside authorities with authorization codes and landing permits:

* * *

_

"Hey babe, check out stud muffin, middle floor." Jack let her gaze wonder, she didn't often agree with T's observations, but it was usually worth the look. "Maybe dancing with that hot cake will cheer you up."

"Hot cake?"

"Just your type. Tall, bald and brooding."


	16. reunited and it feels so good

here's the chapter you've all been waiting for. nothing to graphic, pg-13 for inuendo etc... just have fun!

Jack literally felt her arms weaken. They dropped to her sides as she stepped back from T. Ignoring his shout of concern Jack almost flew down the stairs into the open dance pit. Angles were different, disorienting as people jumped around her, tugging her back or pushing her forward. But she'd spent the last three years on this floor, she knew it like nobody else. Suddenly it seemed the entire crowd moved aside for her, and a long aisle formed for her to see. He just stood there, amidst the chaos. She paused…

Riddick had no idea what he was doing. She wasn't going to care, in fact, she'd probably ignore him, never speak to him again. He wondered when he began thinking like a nervous teenager…

Jack waited until his silver plated eyes looked up and matched with her own gaze. So many emotions surged through her, she felt her heart almost stop as his lips drooped into a self-depreciating little smirk. She couldn't hear the music anymore, though for the past few years it was all she was, it had been her soul when he left. And now he was back, and she couldn't hear it anymore. What did that make her? Was she dependant on him? No, she'd survived forthirteen years before she even knew him, and three years after he left. She could survive without him.

Suddenly Riddick found Jack wrapped around him. Her arms were around his neck, her cheek to his cheek and her legs wrapped around his waist. His hands snapped up to her head and pulled back so they stared at each other. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest. The pounding music fell on deaf ears. As he released her head and wrapped his arms around her, their lips met. Her hands smoothed over his head as she angled her kiss down, their eyes still open they stared as they devoured each other.

Terence sighed. It was so romantic. He switched discs and kept the music jumping, but the two in the center of the room were completely absorbed. He turned slightly when the tall dangerous looking chic stepped out of the lounge.

"Well isn't that cute." She purred as she looked down at the couple. She took the last sip of her coffee and set the cup down on the ledge.

"You know the big guy?" T asked.

"As well as anyone I suppose."

"He's not going to hurt my Jaquline?" T moved the cup from the ledge, where it could fall and damage a customer, to a pile of his cups which would be washed at the end of the night.

"They're going to have to trust each other, I guess." She turned and started walking down the stairs.

"You are staying for a bit? Any requests?" T asked as she turned to smile at him. And heaven, she had a nice smile. He felt his heart go out and splat as she shook her head.

"Nope, heading out tonight."

"Any messages for the happy couple?"

"No… wait, yes."

"Let's go somewhere else…" Riddick muttered against Jack's lips.

"Anywhere else…" she agreed. Then gasped and pulled away, "I still have work!" She looked up at T's booth, who looked down and waved with a big wink.

"Skip it."

"I'll…" Riddick attacked her lips again. God he had no idea that having her wrapped around him this way would effect him so seriously. He couldn't let her go, or everyone who knew the signs would know how seriously. In fact Jack smirked and licked his lips, causing him to groan.

She looked up at T's booth again and noticed that the wave had become a shooing motion.

"I'll skip it."

"Good."

Jack woke up in her own bed. With Riddick lying half on, half off her body, his hand entwined with her own, flung over her head. She stretched slowly under him, he groaned at the movement. She let her other hand lay on his head and smiled when she felt the stubble. Her hand followed his spine down to his butt, which she pinched hard. She laughed when he flinched and his eyes opened to the bright sunlight shining in through her windows. He groaned and shut them again.

"Riddick…" Jack leaned over to kiss him gently. He smiled as she tentatively explored his lips with her own. She was so careful; soft… he kissed her back, softer than he had the night before. It was a morning for lazing in bed…

When they finally showered, together, and dressed… eventually, they went downstairs and foraged around in Imam's fridge. They found fruit and left over chicken from the night before. They ate it cold while sitting at the kitchen table.

"Welcome back my friend." Imam chuckled as he entered through the kitchen garden door. He'd just returned from a meeting, his day had started hours before.

"Sorry it took so long." Riddick said, more to Jack than Imam, and both knew it.

"Sorry you felt it had to." Imam corrected and sat next to Jack. He took an apple slice from her and watched Riddicks eyes sink to his own plate.

"Where's Patty?" Riddick asked Imam, changing the subject.

"Miss Patty did not stay the night. She informed me that she had left her business on the back burner chasing you around and she was not going to waste anymore time on your selfishness."

"She chartered off?" Riddick was confused.

"I was lead to believe she was stealing your ship."

"She has my ship?" Riddick set the apple down and crossed his arms. He frowned and mentally checked his pockets. Patty had his key card. "She stole my ship."

"Means you're stuck here for a while my friend." Imam pointed out. "At least until you get a new ship."

"I guess." Riddick shrugged and went back to his lunch. "There are worse things." He reached out his arm and snagged Jack around the waist, pulling her into his side.

"Yes, I see." Imam nodded and wisely left the conversation, he had a meeting to go to anyway.

Later that night Jack watched as Riddick slept. His arms encircled her waist, as if she'd become a big teddy bear. She missed that when he'd gone. He could trust her like no other, and she knew he'd protect her. He mumbled and shifted, his arms tightened and brought his nose to rest in between her breasts.

"My Jackie…" he sighed and stopped moving. Jack just smiled, kissed the top of his bald head and let sleep take her.


	17. end cap

Sorry guys, I've tried to understand where I was taking the story. But then I realized that I was actually telling two separate stories. They had nothing to do with each other, so I decided to end this story where it should have been ended and then start off with Miranda's story.

If you don't know what I'm talking about then just be on the lookout for my next Riddick story, which will involve Jack's sister and what Jack was doing on the Hunter-Grazner in the first place.

I would have posted this on my profile, but for some reason the FF website won't let me edit anything.

Thanks for reading! Please look for my next fic sometime soon, hopefully.

skabs


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